17 replies to this topic

[Jdtirado]

In an effort to expose my palate to different commercial beers, I opened up a bottle of Raspberry Wheat Shock Top.I must say that I am NOT a fan. Some of these fruity beers taste like wine coolers - I'm not a fan of those either.I want my beers to be a bit more subtle and not hit me over the head with fruit flavors.Until now, I have been a wine drinker. I prefer Cabs and Red Zinfandels, or better said, wines with tobacco, currents, chocolate, and oak flavorings. I do know that I tend to like Belgian and Hefeweizen beers, but I look forward to expanding my palate to some of the darker and perhaps heavier beers. I also admit that I feer high IBU's but this is probably analogous to new wine drinkers ordering white Zins or Rose wines.I am interesting in getting input from you guys with respect to how your palate has evolved.

[MtnBrewer]

The short answer is "a lot". My gateway beer was Sam Adams Boston Lager. That got me into craft beers and got me interested in brewing. That was in the late 80's I guess. Once I broke through, I tried everything I could to see what was good. I liked most things I tried to some extent but there were a few styles that I didn't care for (barley wine is one). I don't remember exactly when it happened but somewhere along the way I discovered hoppy beers. That was a game-changer. There are still some styles I don't drink but not many.

[Jdtirado]

The short answer is "a lot". My gateway beer was Sam Adams Boston Lager. That got me into craft beers and got me interested in brewing. That was in the late 80's I guess. Once I broke through, I tried everything I could to see what was good. I liked most things I tried to some extent but there were a few styles that I didn't care for (barley wine is one). I don't remember exactly when it happened but somewhere along the way I discovered hoppy beers. That was a game-changer. There are still some styles I don't drink but not many.

Does hoppy equate with bitter? Or can beers that have a hoppy smell not have an over powering hoppy taste, as when you dry hop beer?

[Mya]

"hoppy" generally equates to being strongly flavored and aromatic with the character of hopsyou can have "hoppy" without high bitterness, and you can have high bitterness without being "hoppy"

[Jdtirado]

Thats what I want to try, a hoppy beer without being bitter. Any one commercially available that I should buy. Remember that I only have a Walmart where everyone has a mullet.

[Murphy]

a good way to try a bunch of different styles in a short period is to find a bottle shop near you that lets you "build a six pack" this way you can pick 6 different styles per purchase and do a sampling at home.

[Mya]

Thats what I want to try, a hoppy beer without being bitter. Any one commercially available that I should buy. Remember that I only have a Walmart where everyone has a mullet.

u r screwed

[Jdtirado]

u r screwed

ha ha

[Jdtirado]

I suppose that I could drive the hour and a half to here www.vintagecellar.com/ If anyone has a recommendation for me to get, please let me know.

[Deerslyr]

If you have a Cost Plus World Market in the area, you can put together a reasonable 6 pack. Selection isn't extensive, but you will get the idea.I have a feeling that you would like an Old Ale. More malty and less hoppy than say a barleywine. Would have more of a dried fruit overtone... raisins perhaps. I am a huge fan of North Coast Brewing Company and their Old Stock Ale. I have bottles from 2007 through 2010. The 2011 release hadn't hit before I left Cali last summer.Link

[Deerslyr]

And it looks like you can get the Old Stock Ale at vintagecellar!Link

[Deerslyr]

I suppose that I could drive the hour and a half to here www.vintagecellar.com/ If anyone has a recommendation for me to get, please let me know.

You might want to try the Anchor Steam beer.

[MtnBrewer]

Does hoppy equate with bitter? Or can beers that have a hoppy smell not have an over powering hoppy taste, as when you dry hop beer?

It doesn't equate with bitter but they're related. To me, hoppy means the aroma and flavor of hops. That often means bitter too but it doesn't have to.

[JMcG]

Try some pale ales, then brown ales, porters and stouts. Sam Adams or Sierra Nev make representative examples and are fairly available. Expand from there.British "Bitters" are generally not that bitter, that's terminology for "pale ale" in the UK. "Belgians" covers a lot of styles and flavors, try them all.

[Jdtirado]

Try some pale ales, then brown ales, porters and stouts. Sam Adams or Sierra Nev make representative examples and are fairly available. Expand from there.British "Bitters" are generally not that bitter, that's terminology for "pale ale" in the UK. "Belgians" covers a lot of styles and flavors, try them all.

Thanks will do, right after I try Delerium Tremens. StudsTerkel is a hero of mine since he replicate Rare Vos, and he is trying to reverse engineer this beer, so I'm curious.

[Genesee Ted]

I don't think hoppy beers are like rose or white zin. In fact, done well, hop bombs can have a really wonderful quality to them. Different varieties of hops have vastly different characteristics in flavor, aroma, and even texture in the beer, much like what varieties of grapes have in wine. The same goes for different malts. That is a large part of what makes beer flavors and aromas so complex. Also like wine, it is hard to make good beer from crappy ingredients. If you don't have the right varieties of hops stored properly and from a good season, it is very hard to make a great hoppy beer. As far as the bitterness goes, there have been drastic shifts in the last ten years as far as what hop heads look for in their precious and brewers have taken note and thus these beers have evolved. There used to be a big trend to load as many hops into the beer at all point of the boil. While brewers may not have cut back on the amount of hops, they (we) have started to become a lot more strategic about the additions and varieties. As far as the varieties, this comes from there being a lot more high quality varietals of hops available now than ever. In regard to the additions, many brewers have eschewed large amounts of bittering hop charges in favor of smaller bittering additions, first wort hops, late boil flavor and aroma additions, dry hopping, and even serving these beers after being passed through hop flowers on the way to the tap.I can say that even though I was drinking Sam Adams and the like, it wasn't until I had DFH 90 IPA in the hand bottled 22oz bottles that I fell off the deep end with craft beer. The recipe is much different now that it was then, but not necessarily in a bad way, just evolved. I consumed as many different similar beers as I could find and then started branching out from there to basically everything else. Brewing helped with that. I had already been brewing before I "fell off the deep end" for a few years, but it wasn't something that I really put much though into, just like a fun project that ended up with a boozy beverage in the end. Especially nice since I wasn't old enough to buy beer.If I ever couldn't find something that I was interested in, I would do a bunch of research into the style or particular beer and try to make it so I could get a feel for what it is. I learned a lot from this. If you live a couple hours from the bottle shop, I would go there and drop a few hundred dollars on some stuff that looks interesting to you. That way you won't have to keep running a few hours for a few bottles. Drinking the stuff is the only way to really find what you like and what you don't. Look through sites like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer for things that look up your alley and make a list. If they don't have everything you want, no big deal, and beer shop worth its salt will still have enough of a selection for you to try a lot of different stuff.

[Jdtirado]

Look through sites like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer for things that look up your alley and make a list. If they don't have everything you want, no big deal, and beer shop worth its salt will still have enough of a selection for you to try a lot of different stuff.

Nice write up and great advice!

[al_bob]

Bells "Two Hearted Ale" is a tasty, hoppy, beer that isn't so bitter. Seek it out!